Fragile Lives

An incredible memoir from one of the world s most eminent heart surgeons and some of the most remarkable and poignant cases he s worked on.Grim Reaper sits on the heart surgeon s shoulder A slip of the hand and life ebbs away.The balance between life and death is so delicate, and the heart surgeon walks that rope between the two In the operating room there is no time for doubt It is flesh, blood, rib retractors and pumping the vital organ with your bare hand to squeeze the life back into it An off day can have dire consequences this job has a steep learning curve, and the cost is measured in human life Cardiac surgery is not for the faint of heart.Professor Stephen Westaby took chances and pushed the boundaries of heart surgery He saved hundreds of lives over the course of a thirty five year career and now, in his astounding memoir, Westaby details some of his most remarkable and poignant cases such as the baby who had suffered multiple heart attacks by six months old, a woman who lived the nightmare of locked in syndrome, and a man whose life was powered by a battery for eight years.A powerful, important and incredibly moving book, Fragile Lives offers an exceptional insight into the exhilarating and sometimes tragic world of heart surgery, and how it feels to hold someone s life in your hands. New Read eBook Fragile Lives Author Stephen Westaby – kino-fada.fr This is one of those books of medical true life stories, but istechnical than most By the end, I knew a great dealof the structure of the heart, blood chemistry and why making lots of pee is extremely important The author is a very forthright sort of man, and a very empathetic one too The people he operates on he describes in detail, I felt for him when he lost a patient, I rejoiced with him when his inventions kept people alive And I held my breath when he operated on a pregnant This is one of those books of medical true life stories, but istechnical than most By the end, I knew a great dealof the structure of the heart, blood chemistry and why making lots of pee is extremely important The author is a very forthright sort of man, and a very empathetic one too The people he operates on he describes in detail, I felt for him when he lost a patient, I rejoiced with him when his inventions kept people alive And I held my breath when he operated on a pregnant woman to repair her heart as by now I knew enough of technical details of s...We stop life and start it again, making things better, taking calculated risks Although the 2017 Wellcome Prize shortlist has only just been announced, this is my early favorite for the 2018 prize for fiction and nonfiction on a medical theme What Henry Marsh did for brain surgery in Do No Harm, Westaby does for cardiac surgery with this vivid, compassionate set of stories culled from a long career at the forefront of artificial heart technology.A working class lad from Scunthorpe who watc We stop life and start it again, making things better, taking calculated risks Although the 2017 Wellcome Prize shortlist has only just been announced, this is my early favorite for the 2018 prize for fiction and nonfiction on a medical theme What Henry Marsh did for brain surgery in Do No Harm, Westaby does for cardiac surgery with this vivid, compassionate set of stories culled from a long career at the forefront of artificial heart technology.A working class lad from Scunthorpe who watched his grandfather die of heart failure, he made his way up from hospital porter to world leading surgeon after training at Charing Cross Hospital Medical School Each of these case studies, from a young African mother and her sick child whom he met while working in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s to a university student who collapses not far from his hospital in Oxford, is told in impressive depth.Although the surgery details are not for the squeamish, I found them riveting Westaby conveys...A brilliant, thought provoking memoir chronicling renowned heart surgeon Westaby as he details his life and career Starting from humble beginnings, the author challenges the perception that only public schoolboys get to be surgeons I was pleasantly surprised to find that the hospital predominately featured in this book was my very own local one and where I began my own career as a registered nurse in 2012 Although I have not had the pleasure of meeting the author personally, his accounts of A brilliant, thought provoking memoir chronicling renowned heart surgeon Westaby as he details his life and career Starting from humble beginnings, the author challenges the perception that only public schoolboys get to be surgeons I was pleasantly surprised to find that the hospital predominately featured in this book was my very own local one and where I began my own career as a registered nurse in 2012 Although I have not had the pleasure of meeting the author personally, his accounts of our hospital life ring true from the demands placed on the dedicated staff to the bureaucratic issues that underpin medical and nur...One of those cases where I was in a funk and just going through OverDrive app, trying to find something different to listen to, that would lift me out of the fog and de stress me.This one stood out to me, the fact Westaby was from the UK peaked my interest too I hadn t listened to someone from that profession who lived outside the USA and it had me very curious I started listening to it the same night on the way to work.Slightly disappointed he didn t narrate it himself only because it is a One of those cases where I was in a funk and just going through OverDrive app, trying to find something different to listen to, that would lift me out of the fog and de stress me.This one stood out to me, the fact Westaby was from the UK peaked my interest too I hadn t listened to someone from that profession who lived outside the USA and it had me very curious I started listening to it the same night on the way to work.Slightly disappointed he didn t narrate it himself only because it is alwaysinteresting to me anyway to hear the writer s voice. but not everyone is meant to be a narrator of audiobooks shrugs The narrator here was very good, pleasant voice and I have a crush on his accent haha.Anyways Quick review Interesting factor 5 starsWriting 2.5 stars at times, 3 stars at others The cases presented here were fascinating, eng...I read this pretty much in one sitting an incredibly emotional, informative and really very addictive memoir here from Stephen Westaby, I now knowabout the human heart than I ever could imagine that I would.A true trailblazer but oddly for a man of this nature and genius not at all egotistical, he came across brilliantly and all the stories he told, all the people he saved and the ones he couldn t will stay with me for a long long time Spanning many years and many innovations, Fragile I read this pretty much in one sitting an incredibly emotional, informative and really very addictive memoir here from Stephen Westaby, I now knowabout the human heart than I ever could imagine that I would.A true trailblazer but oddly for a man of this nature and genius not at all egotistical, he came across brilliantly and all the stories he told, all the people he saved and the ones he couldn t will stay with me for a long long time Spanning many years and many innovations, Fragile Hearts puts life into huge perspective just how much we rely on the hear...Anyone who reads my blog will know that I rarely, if ever, review non fiction It is definitely not my usual genre, but when I saw it pop up on Twitter recently, I was suitably intrigued I am so SO GLAD I got the chance to read and review Fragile Lives.Fragile Lives is a memoir written by Stephen Westaby, one of the most well known cardiac surgeons and hugely prolific in his chosen field A trailblazer from very early on in his career, he continued to pave the way for the use of new and unknown Anyone who reads my blog will know that I rarely, if ever, review non fiction It is definitely not my usual genre, but when I saw it pop up on Twitter recently, I was suitably intrigued I am so SO GLAD I got the chance to read and review Fragile Lives.Fragile Lives is a memoir written by Stephen Westaby, one of the most well known cardiac surgeons and hugely prolific in his chosen field A trailblazer from very early on in his career, he continued to pave the way for the use of new and unknown cardiac treatments and apparatus.I started it Monday morning, and by Monday night I was a ball of emotions upon finishing it Every chapter is a case story, and every case is heartbreaking yet life affirming, if that makes sense I found myself close to tears onthan one occasion on Monday, knowing that these are real people and they were meeting Westaby at possibly the worst moment of their lives.The details in Fragile Lives are ex...This bookugh I really wanted to like it and honesty thought I would I loved When Breath Becomes Air and thought this might be similar Not so much The author is a retired heart surgeon in the UK, so a lot of the commentary about their healthcare system NHS felt disconnected to me It was very technical and explained medical procedures in great overly excessive detail, and I skimmed through some of these descriptions My biggest complaint about the book, however, is the fact that Westab This bookugh I really wanted to like it and honesty thought I would I loved When Breath Becomes Air and thought this might be similar Not so much The author is a retired heart surgeon in the UK, so a lot of the commentary about their healthcare system NHS felt disconnected to me It was very technical and explained medical proc...Excellent memoir of cardio surgeon If you think your job is hard please read this book and you ll be happy for the job you have.A successful cardiac surgeon is a man who, when asked to identify the three best surgeons in the world, has difficulty in naming the other two Fragile Lives, by Professor Stephen Westaby, is a memoir that is both awe inspiring and heart rending It tells the story of the medical career of a man raised in working class Scunthorpe who became a world class, ground breaking cardiac surgeon before watching his life saving profession being stymied by the NHS bureaucracy that we know today.The first A successful cardiac surgeon is a man who, when asked to identify the three best surgeons in the world, has difficulty in naming the other two Fragile Lives, by Professor Stephen Westaby, is a memoir that is both awe inspiring and heart rending It tells the story of the medical career of a man raised in working class Scunthorpe who became a world class, ground breaking cardiac surgeon before watching his life saving profession being stymied by the NHS bureaucracy that we know today.The first few chapters cover Westaby s childhood, inspiration and medical training Born in the post war baby boom years he decided you...Book reviews andon www.snazzybooks.com I really, really enjoyed this memoir I fancied something that would make a change from all the fiction I usually read, and this turned out to be the perfect pick.It s full of fascinating stories, both from Professor Stephen Westaby himself as he takes us through some of the key operations in his career, but there s also a lot focusing on the people going under Westaby s knife and how they felt, what led to them needing surgery including back storie Book reviews andon www.snazzybooks.com I really, really enjoyed this memoir I fancied something that would make a change from all the fiction I usually read, and this turned out to be the perfect pick.It s full of fascinating stories, both from Professor Stephen Westaby himself as he takes us through some of the key operations in his career, but there s also a lot focusing on the people going under Westaby s knife and how they felt, what led to them needing surgery including back stories and how they fared afterwards It s a real rollercoaster of highs and lows, with some great results and some which made me feel so sad I ...As a child Westaby watched two of his grandparents die slow painful deaths his grandfather from heart failure and his grandmother from a cancer which left her to suffocate This experience has clearly directed his career and his desires to help those who would otherwise be written off He says you need to be objective as a surgeon, but he never comes across as uncaring.It s amazing how far medicine has come in just a few generations Who would have thought artificial hearts can and do work The As a child Westaby watched two of his grandparents die slow painful deaths his grandfather from heart failure and his grandmother from a cancer which left her to suffocate This experience has clearly directed his career and his desires to help those who would otherwise be written off He says you need to be objective as a surgeon, but he never comes across as uncaring.It s amazing how far medicine has come in just a few generations Who would have thought artificial hearts can and do work The ability for a truly rested heart to regenerate is eye opening and makes you wonder why we can t be doing this forpeople.The hearts seem to take quite a beating, both through life and surgery There s young people struck down in their prime by viruses and undete...

• English
• 22 July 2017
Stephen Westaby
• Hardcover
• 349 pages
• 0008196761
• Stephen Westaby
• Fragile Lives